Because of the holidays, the Hudson Reporter newspapers will have special advertising and editorial deadlines.

For the Wednesday, Jan. 2 edition of the Bayonne Community News and the Thursday, Jan. 3 Midweek Reporter, the classified and display advertising deadline is 12 noon on Friday, Dec. 28.

The office will be closed on Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, and will reopen on Wednesday, Jan. 2.

For the Sunday, Jan. 6 edition of the Hudson Reporter “Year in Pictures,” the advertising deadline is 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 2

If you have questions about these deadlines or any other issue, please call (201) 798-7800. Also check www.hudsonreporter.com.

Barnes & Noble and Secaucus donate books, games, toys to local towns

SECAUCUS – Area children and families in need or who were affected by Hurricane Sandy received a special holiday gift on Friday, as a number were present to select from among a variety of toys, games, and books at the Secaucus Recreation Center.

Major Bookseller Barnes & Noble worked in conjunction with Secaucus to distribute over 10,000 toys, games, and books to area towns that were affected by Hurricane Sandy including Secaucus, Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City, as well as Bergen County towns like Carlstadt, Moonachie, and Little Ferry.

Local officials, school administrators, and board of education members were present for a special ceremony at the Recreation Center where Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli presented Barnes & Noble CEO Mitchell Klipper with a plaque in recognition of the company’s contribution to the local community. Assemblyman Vincent Prieto and Assemblywoman Angelica Jimenez were also in attendance.

Secaucus resident Lisa Wandell, who has four children, said that her family had a difficult year and the toys were “a blessing.” Her husband and daughter are both in the hospital and the family has faced challenges living on one income. She added that when she got her most recent paycheck she was faced with the decision of whether to pay her car insurance or buy her children presents for Christmas.

“This is a godsend,” said Wandell.

Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner, Board of Education President Richard Barsa, and Township Manager Jim Marchetti were present to receive the contribution, which will go to local flood victims as well as to future emergencies. Turner said that nearly 350 families were affected by Hurricane Sandy in Weehawken.

Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer said the donations were going to organizations that serve youth in need throughout the city as well as ones that were affected by the storm such as Daycare 100, which was flooded out during the storm, the Jubilee Center, and the Boys and Girls Club.

Union City Superintendent of Schools Stanley Sanger said that the donations would go toward the families who were displaced due to the recent fire. He said that locally the school district had collected $9,000 and that while the cash donation was helpful to provide the families support as they get back on their feet, the toys are “very special…for the kids.”

Danny Conroy and Ryan Goor of the Secaucus-based company Commercial Furniture Transport also gave 10,000 pieces of Mattell and Hasbro toys through Angel Wish.

Congressional leaders call for gun control

Local congressional leaders, including Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-8th) and Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) both called for stricter gun control measures in the wake of the recent tragedy in Newtown, Conn.

Pascrell, co-chair of the Congressional Law Enforcement Caucus, renewed his call for legislation to reinstate the ban on high capacity magazines and to require background checks for all firearm sales. Rep. Pascrell is an original cosponsor of H.R. 308, the Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act, which would reinstate the ban on large capacity ammunition feeding devices that existed from 1994 to 2004, and a cosponsor of H.R. 1781, the Fix Gun Checks Act, which would extend background check requirements to those who buy guns at gun shows and through private sales. This bill would also ensure that all those prohibited from owning guns are included in the background check database.

Rep. Pascrell also announced that the Congressional Law Enforcement Caucus would be working on ways to strengthen the capabilities of our nation’s first responders to address gun violence.

Lautenberg (D-NJ) announced plans to reintroduce his high-capacity magazine ban legislation in January, at the beginning of the 113th Congress. In the 112th Congress, Lautenberg introduced the Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act in the Senate to prohibit the manufacture and sale of ammunition magazines that have a capacity of, or could be readily converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Lautenberg plans to reintroduce his legislation in 2013.

Jaslow gets probation, helped lead Dwek to Elwell

Dennis Jaslow, who helped get payoffs from purported developer Solomon Dwek to former Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell, last week was sentenced to two years of probation and a $5,000 fine by U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares in mid-December – sparing him a prison term for his cooperation, according to news reports.

Jaslow, 49, a North Bergen resident, and former county election officer, was granted a government request for leniency for his early cooperation. Jaslow had faced up to 18 months in prison under his plea deal.

Jaslow was among more than 40 public officials arrested in 2009 in a government sting operation called “Operation Bid Rig III.”

Jaslow pleaded guilty early on and admitted in federal court in 2009 that he agreed to give a $10,000 bribe to then-Mayor Elwell on behalf of Dwek, who was really an undercover FBI informant. He also admitted that he accepted a $5,000 cash bribe in exchange for helping Dwek gain access to public officials in Hudson County. Jaslow was later allowed to withdraw his plea to an extortion conspiracy count and plead guilty to the lesser offense of aiding and abetting the offer of cash and illegal campaign contributions to Elwell with the intent to influence and reward him.

Elwell met with Jaslow and Dwek, an FBI informant who posed as a real estate developer, in April 2009 in regard to building a hotel in Secaucus. Jaslow agreed to be the conduit to funnel money and contributions from Dwek to Elwell.

Elwell began serving his jail sentence of 2.5 years in Butner, N.C this summer. Elwell, 66, was sentenced April 12 in Federal Court to 30 months in prison. On July 6, 2911 a federal jury acquitted Elwell of conspiracy to commit extortion and attempted extortion, but convicted him on bribery, in connection with a government sting. Federal prosecutors claimed that Dwek gave Elwell $10,000 cash, allegedly through political operative Ronald Manzo, in order to get favoritism on development projects. Elwell had said he saw the money as a campaign contribution rather than a bribe. Dwek is serving a six-year term in Maryland.